The Cool Kids are a midwestern duo from consisting of Chicago, Illinois rapper & songwriter Sir Michael Rocks and Mount Clemens, Michigan rapper, producer & songwriter Chuck Inglish. Releasing 6 mixtapes between the mid-late 2000s, they made their full length debut in the summer of 2011 with When Fish Ride Bicycles & reunited for the 2017 sophomore effort Special Edition Grand Master Deluxe. Last we heard from them was the Before Shit Got Weird & Baby Oil Staircase / Chillout triple disc trilogy in 2022, returning to Fools Gold Records for their 4th studio LP.
“Cigarello Helmets” is a 61 second Mobb intro produced by Chuck Inglish to flex that they’ve re-up’d whereas “We Got Clips” takes the psychedelic boom bap route instrumentally getting in their battle rap bags lyrically. “Dang!” talks about how other rappers want rain & start complaining soon as they get clout while “Rockbox” throws it back to the mid-school thanks to none other than A-Trak styling on everybody.
As for the single “Foil Bass”, we have Chuck & Sir Michael hopping over a Neptunes-inspired beat to talk about the pair poppin’ like they got jalapeños on ‘em just before “95 South” throws it back to when Atlanta bass was becoming popular 3 decades ago to boast the motion they still got. “Banana in the Tailpipe” featuring Seafood Sam unites the trio to pay their respects to the late Drakeo the Ruler while “Blade Runner” featuring Radamiz asks who’ll be seeing heaven first.
“Crunch Rap Supreme” returns to the boom bap with some of the hungriest performances on the entire album (no pun intended) prior to “Don’t Say My Name” wanting to know why some call them by their governments when out in public. Pink Siifu saves the best feature for “Clean Linen Satin Pillow” tackling the theme of betrayal while the silky “Tryin’ to Get Like You” talks about there being a lot to being fresh that nobody really tells us.
The song “Cinnamon Part 2” kicks off Hi Top Fade’s final act with a sequel to a standout from their Gone Fishing mixtape & once “Live Wire” hooks up some prominent synthesizers for a more romantic vibe talking about keeping each other up all night dancing until dawn, the closer “Back Up Off Me” nostalgically feels reminiscent of 80s R&B with a hip hop spin being put on in.
Special Edition Grand Master Deluxe along with the Before Shit Got Weird & Baby Oil Staircase / Chillout series all had songs that I liked, but Hi Top Fade has gotta be the most consistent full-length that I’ve heard from these guys in almost 15 years right when I had finished middle school & probably outdoing it in terms of quality. Even with When Fish Ride Bicycles having better guests, the main focus of both Chuck Inglish’s production & his chemistry with Sir Michael Rocks are the most exciting it’s been in a while ahead of when or if Mannie Fresh produces their next album.
Score: 9/10
